A 20-year plan to transform Kingston's night time economy, reducing crime and reintegrating the borough's over 25s, is set to go ahead.

The after dark strategy, part of the council's K+20 plan for the next 20 years, aims to develop ways to cope with the undesirable effects of Kingston's increasingly popular nightlife.

It will focus initially on Kingston town centre, looking first at the relationship between the day and night time economies.

This is to include working with Kingston police to reduce noise nuisance and crime, by identifying and monitoring high risk areas.

The strategy also aims to encourage the development of the borough's main centres as attractive places to live. It will look at transport services, to provide safe late night routes home for the 10,000 town centre revellers and workers.

The culture of Kingston's nightlife is to be extended, to cater for people of all ages and backgrounds, providing more alternative entertainment to pubs and clubs.

Pat Loxton, principal planning officer at Kingston Council, said it was a working progress report and the next step was to meet police and Kingston Town Centre Management to discuss the strategy, which is to act as a guide to development.

She said: "We will start to look at things such as minicabs, crime and antisocial behaviour, late night clubs and now how to respond to the gambling bill."

Malcolm Grosvenor, from the Enough is Enough Campaign, set up to stop the expansion of Kingston's late night entertainment, said: "Changes in the licensing laws make it difficult for the council to stop new late night development.

"The strategy has fine words, but there needs to be a proper infrastructure in place to keep people of all ages living here."

rclifford@london.newsquest.co.uk